FedEx Ground will shutter its Maspeth distribution center and move to a sprawling Long Island City facility next year, company officials said.
The new 140,000-square-foot plant on Borden Ave. will cost an estimated $56 million to construct and could be completed by spring 2013, FedEx spokesman David Westrick told the Daily News on Tuesday.
The company’s business-to-business shipping arm is looking to grow, Westrick said, ironically at the same time the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced it will close its College Point mail sorting facility.
“The new [FedEx] facility is part of a nationwide network expansion to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of the FedEx Ground network,” Westrick said.
Easy access to the Long Island Expressway and the Midtown Tunnel, proximity to customer distribution centers and a large local workforce attracted the company to the area, Westrick said.
FedEx Ground will relocate to the same block that is currently home to online grocer Fresh Direct, which will be moving to the Bronx in 2015.
The project will be developed by the North Carolina-based SunCap Property Group LLC, which will own the property in a partnership with Lexington Realty Trust. Aurora Contractors of Ronkonkoma, L.I., will build the plant, which FedEx will lease.
FedEx pitched moving the facility to a waterfront parcel in Astoria in 2008, but faced stiff community opposition. Property owner Con Edison ultimately opted not to sell it to the company, forcing FedEx to find another site.
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall said Long Island City is a more appropriate site.
“It is already zoned for the heaviest manufacturing uses. It also has nearby access to highways,” she said. “Hopefully, it will also boost local businesses affected by the departure of Fresh Direct.”
A representative from the local business community said Maspeth’s loss is Long Island City’s gain.
“We’re happy that FedEx is coming to our neighborhood,” said Dan Miner, senior vice president of business services for the Long Island City Partnership.
The shipping giant has opened 11 new distribution centers since 2005 and has cut its home and commercial delivery times to more than half of U.S. addresses, Westrick said.
“With these changes, FedEx Ground is faster to more overall locations and FedEx Home Delivery is faster to more residential locations than any other ground carrier,” he boasted.
